MORNING FUN IN KINDERGARTEN

Kindergarten is off to a great start! Much of the first few weeks is about learning procedures, following the rules and making new friends but we have been able to get going on some of our curriculum as well. This year’s class has been eager to get started and we are already making great strides.

One of my favorite times of day in kindergarten is first thing in the morning when the students come in but before we are ready to get started on class work. This used to be my least favorite time. I was using paper and pencil morning work and desperately trying to keep order because the students weren’t enjoying what they were doing. That all changed when I discovered Morning Work Drawers. Now the students come in and find their name and the corresponding drawer number. They pull the drawer out and take it anywhere they want in the room to get started on their work.

These drawers are filled with academic skills but they are also focused on working all those tiny finger and hand muscles that are so often overlooked. Best of all, the students LOVE them and are excited to get to work every morning!

Early in the year the drawers are filled with simple tasks like punching brightly colored paper with a hole punch or linking colored clips together. The good news for me is that the drawers will use the same manipulatives all year while the skills focused on will get more and more challenging! The students aren’t stressed and are engaged in their work and I know they are working on all kinds of skills needed for the years ahead. Take a look at the pictures to see these new kindergarteners hard at work in the first fifteen minutes of the day.